I hope you find this fish info helpful on Charter Fishing on the Gulf Of Mexico out of Madeira Beach Florida. Please call me if there are any other questions I can discuss with you.
Captain Bob Poteshman 773-682-1888
The Snapper Family (typically caught species)
Red Snapper: Lutjanus campechanus
Appearance:
- Color pinkish red over entire body, whitish below
- Long triangular snout
- Anal fin is sharply pointed
- No dark lateral spot
- Red eye
Additional Information
State Record: 46 lb 8 oz, caught near Destin
Fishing Tips and Facts: Snappers will take soft-bodied jigs, bucktails and spoons.
Adult red snapper may live more than 20 years and attain 35 pounds or more.
_____________________________________________
Grunts (Grey Snapperlike Fish): Haemulon plumieri
Appearance:
Body color light bluish-gray, head with horizontal blue stripes, white underbelly; black blotch on preopercle; margin of each scale bronze; large bright orange mouth; scales above lateral line larger than scales below lateral line.
Behavior:
Audible grunting is produced by grinding of the pharyngeal teeth, with air bladder acting as amplifyer; spawning occurs on OFFSHORE hard bottoms or reefs from May through June; feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and small fishes.
State Record: 15 lb 8 oz, caught near Key West
Size: most catches 1.5 pounds (15 inches).
_____________________________________________
Lane Snapper: Lutjanus synagris
Appearance:
- Color silvery-pink to reddish with short, irregular pink and yellow lines on its sides
- Diffuse black spot, about as large as the eye
- The dorsal fin centered above the lateral line
- The outer margin of caudal fin blackish
Additional Information
State Record: 6 lb 6 oz, caught near Pensacola
_____________________________________________
Vermilion Snapper: Rhomboplites aurorubens
Appearance:
color of entire body reddish, with a series of short, irregular lines on its sides, diagonal blue lines formed by spots on the scales above the lateral line; sometimes with yellow streaks below the lateral line; large canine teeth absent; orientation of mouth and eye give it the appearance of looking upward; no dark lateral spot.
Additional Information
State Record: This species is not currently eligible for a state record.
___________________________________________
Mutton Snapper: Lutjanus analis
Appearance:
- Color olive green on back and upper sides
- All fins below the lateral line having reddish tinge
- Bright blue line below eye, following contour of operculum
- Anal fin pointed
- Small black spot below dorsal fin
Additional Information
State Record: 30 lb 4 oz, caught near the Dry Tortugas
___________________________________________
Yellowtail Snapper: Ocyurus chrysurus
Appearance:
back and upper sides olive to bluish with yellow spots; lower sides and belly with alternating narrow, longitudinal pink and yellow stripes; prominent midlateral yellow stripe begins at mouth and runs to tail, broadening as it passes the dorsal fins; caudal fin yellow and deeply forked; no dark lateral spot..
Additional Information
State Record: 8 lb 9 oz, caught near Ft. Myers
___________________________________________
Mangrove (Mangoes) / Gray Snapper:
Appearance:
- Dark brown or gray with reddish or orange spots in rows along the sides
- A dark horizontal band from snout through eye is present in young only
- Two conspicuous canine teeth are present at front of upper jaw
- Dorsal fins have dark or reddish borders
- No dark spot is present on side underneath dorsal fin
Additional Information
Gray snapper caught offshore are common 8 to 10 pounds.
Thank you…Capt. Bob Poteshman